Cierra Ortega, a former contestant on season 7 of “Love Island USA,” has spoken out after abruptly leaving the show when multiple of her using a racial slur resurfaced online. Ortega, who audiences learned had left the show on Sunday, July 6, took accountability for using the offensive term in an Instagram video posted Wednesday, July 9.

Love Island USA contestant Cierra Ortega has addressed her removal from the hit dating reality show. A week before the finale, Ortega was dropped from Season Seven after the surfacing of social media posts from 2015 and 2020 in which she used a racial slur toward the Asian community.

Love Island USA's Cierra Ortega has apologised for old social media posts including a derogatory term for Chinese people, following her sudden removal from the hit TV show. In a video message, the 25-year-old content creator from Los Angeles said the post in question that led to her departure was made in 2024 and that a follower messaged her to explain that it was a slur.